(Belated) Book Club Discussion: The Midnight Library

[ufcasey]

Sorry this is so late! But here's the thread to discuss The Midnight Library by Matt Haig


As always, please feel free to just talk about your impressions of the book, or answer any/all of the optional questions below (found on the internet):

1. Nora goes to so many different realities from marrying her ex-boyfriend to studying glaciers. Which alternate reality did you find the most interesting?

2. Every time Nora goes to one of these realities, there’s usually a lot of good but also something bad. Whether it’s her brother dying in the rock star storyline or her mother passing away alone when Nora kept going with swimming. What do you think the author was trying to say there with how each of these concepts had huge consequences?

3.What did you think about the storyline where Nora marries Ash and has a daughter? Why wasn’t she able to stay in this alternate reality?

4. Is the ending satisfying? If so, why? If not, why not...and how would you change it? Is anything left unresolved or ambiguous? How do you picture the characters’ lives after the end of the story?

[ufcasey]

Tagging people who might have read this:

gerberdaisy, wildrice, NewGirlNic, eb777888, Gato, mx27, litskispeciality, fiddles, jinkies, DotAndBuzz, erbear, dontlook, Nonny, rootbeerfloat, gummybear, brandy0331, linamax, al dente, mrspez07, waverly, aurora

[jinkies]

I did read this recently.

I think the main point was that there is no perfect life. Every decision has pros and cons, and molds us into the person we are.

I was expecting the book to resolve with her staying in the Ash marriage storyline. I actually liked that she went back to her original life.

I know that her suicide attempt was the set up and not the main thrust of the book, but I lost a loved one to suicide this year so I found it harder to read than expected. It's been hard not to spiral on the "what ifs" and this book was a series of "what ifs" which made it not quite the same light reading for me as it was for others (I read it for my in person book club and it was universally loved by the rest of the group).

[meowmaps]

I read this sometime last year so I'm not entirely clear on all the details. I did like it and was satisfied with the ending. I like that she was able to start again in her reality and envision different possibilities for herself. I think it would've been too easy for her to pick one of her idyllic alternate realities. I think she realized that part of living well is the journey and sometimes, struggle, to get there.

[dontlook]

I read this book earlier this year. Overall I enjoyed it. It felt rushed and repetitive, which was the point but somehow I didn’t enjoy it as much as I could have(?). I wish she had spent more time in some lives. Maybe fewer lives with more story would have been a good approach.

I’m sure I’ll have more thoughts on this and you all will get a bunch of random posts lol.

[waverly]

Dec 2, 2021 11:55:37 GMT -5 ufcasey said:

Sorry this is so late! But here's the thread to discuss The Midnight Library by Matt Haig


As always, please feel free to just talk about your impressions of the book, or answer any/all of the optional questions below (found on the internet):

1. Nora goes to so many different realities from marrying her ex-boyfriend to studying glaciers. Which alternate reality did you find the most interesting?

2. Every time Nora goes to one of these realities, there’s usually a lot of good but also something bad. Whether it’s her brother dying in the rock star storyline or her mother passing away alone when Nora kept going with swimming. What do you think the author was trying to say there with how each of these concepts had huge consequences?

3.What did you think about the storyline where Nora marries Ash and has a daughter? Why wasn’t she able to stay in this alternate reality?

4. Is the ending satisfying? If so, why? If not, why not...and how would you change it? Is anything left unresolved or ambiguous? How do you picture the characters’ lives after the end of the story?

It's been a while, so my memory is bad.  1. I liked most of the alternate realities where she was the happiest.  2.  I think the answer is in your question, that these major negative life events have big consequences.   3.  I liked that one.  4. I think it was satisfying in that she chose to go back to her regular life.  I have been liking alternate universe type books, and I think the point is there are pros and cons to each life, but some of those pros and cons can be little or huge.  

[rootbeerfloat]

I read this awhile ago and have forgotten most of the storylines. I think I liked the glacier one and the one where she has a daughter.

I agree that the point is that no life is perfect, though some may be better than others. I've also decided that I don't enjoy these types of books (Life After Life, Oona Out of Order, etc), though I think it makes sense that she went back to her original life (as if all the alternate versions were just a dream).

[Gato]

It's been about six months since I read this, but I did love it.

I think Nora couldn't stay in the Ash life because it wasn't really "her." She both hadn't earned that life, and didn't actually, truly want it, because the choices she'd made in her real life had led her elsewhere.

Personally, I liked the rock storyline because it was the most glamorous and different from Nora's actual life. I could appreciate how much work Matt Haig had done to get that right. I thought the one where she had become an Olympic swimmer, then had to give a motivational speech that she had no idea how to give, was the most stressful storyline. What a nightmare! I would have definitely found a way to beg off that commitment!

I think the author was trying to say that every life has good and bad consequences. Even though Nora made some questionable choices in her "real" life, she was living her life authentically. All the potential "dream" lives were not truly authentic to her, so she couldn't stay.

I did like the ending. It felt satisfying because she was taking small steps to improve her real life, as we all try to do when we're at our best.

What bothered me about the book was I don't think he gets suicidal feelings right. It seemed like he was asserting that she was suicidal because she hadn't loved or been loved. But many people feel suicidal even when surrounded by loving family and friends. So I thought that take was superficial at best.

What I did love was something he wrote that is central to the book, I think: "we are as completely and utterly alive as we are in any other life and have access to the same emotional spectrum." Lol, I actually wrote that down. I just think it is fundamental to realize that life on earth is heartbreakingly brief, and that to compare ourselves to others is a waste. We all live in circumstances mostly beyond our control, but we mostly get to feel the same emotions, except for the sociopaths. We all have an inner compass; we all get to make our own meaning of our life. To me, the making of meaning is the most important part of being human.

[Nonny]

I thought it was just OK. Looks like I was being generous on Goodreads and gave it 3 stars. LOL! But honestly I haven't thought of this book after my book club met, except to think "meh" every time I see it recommended. 

Maybe it's because multi-dimensional travel is one of my favorite types of stories, or maybe because the writing was mediocre, but this book felt incredibly predictable. I knew instantly, before the first new life was over, that Nora was going to pick to go back to her original life. Like, there was basically no other way the story could go.

I also found it kind of off-putting that Nora kept looking for anti-depressants in the cabinets of all of her otherselves, like it was some big moral failing to need help dealing with depression. The ending should have been her getting real therapy, not just thinking about maybe she needs a dog. (I mean sure, also get the dog, but also get therapy.)

[travella]

I read this book about 5 months ago. I gave it 3 stars and remember it being frustrating because I wanted to love it because I found the premise intriguing. However, it fell short. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad book. I loved the idea of the book and loved some of the quotes I pulled from this book, especially the quotes relating life to chess. However, it lacked depth. As I read I couldn't help but feel that something was missing. I wanted emotion in the various lives. I didn't feel any real emotion until the very end. I wanted more information about the different lives than just the moments glance she gets.

Favorite quote:
A pawn is a queen-in-waiting. All you need to do is find a way to keep moving forward. One square after another. And you can get to the other side and unlock all kinds of power.

It's been so long since I read the book that I cannot really answer any of the questions. I do agree with others that the point the author was trying to make is that no alternate version of your life would be perfect and every decision we make molds who we are as an individual.

[dontlook]

Dec 2, 2021 14:50:29 GMT -5 travella said:

I read this book about 5 months ago. I gave it 3 stars and remember it being frustrating because I wanted to love it because I found the premise intriguing. However, it fell short. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad book. I loved the idea of the book and loved some of the quotes I pulled from this book, especially the quotes relating life to chess. However, it lacked depth. As I read I couldn't help but feel that something was missing. I wanted emotion in the various lives. I didn't feel any real emotion until the very end. I wanted more information about the different lives than just the moments glance she gets.

Favorite quote:
A pawn is a queen-in-waiting. All you need to do is find a way to keep moving forward. One square after another. And you can get to the other side and unlock all kinds of power.

It's been so long since I read the book that I cannot really answer any of the questions. I do agree with others that the point the author was trying to make is that no alternate version of your life would be perfect and every decision we make molds who we are as an individual.

It definitely felt hard to root for her in any other life because it lacked emotions (except maybe the life with Ash and the daughter) but maybe that was the point? I wish the character connected better in those lives so the reader could too.

[msmerymac]

I read this a few months ago.

The stuff with the cat (both Ash telling her that he was dead/had been hit by a car, and her first visit back, I think, when she wanted a life where he hadn't gone out that night) was heartbreaking because I know what it's like to have a cat you desperately love and loves you when everything else seems awful. I definitely cried.

I think the glacier might have been one of my favorites, because that's where she first meets the other jumper (right?). That was interesting but also showed her how shallow the whole thing could become.

I liked the concept because it made me consider choices in my own life and what kind of lives I'd want to choose to experience. These days I say that I'd be a chef if I didn't do what I do now, but I have a bad back and I don't think the daily grind would work well for me at almost 40 years old. But what if I had actually gotten a job in journalism after college? What if I had never moved to California and met my husband? What if I had done a PhD program?

Overall I thought it was a good concept and moderately well-executed. I'd give it 4/5 stars.

[aurora]

I'm way late to this thread because I didn't really know what to say about the book. I read it a few weeks early and didn't love it. Something didn't ring "true" IMO and I had trouble connecting with Nora. (It wasn't just the multiple lives thing; I can suspend disbelief with the best of them when the characters feel authentic.)

[aurora]

Reading the other posts, maybe the reason I had trouble connecting with Nora was kind of purposeful: if none of these were her authentic lives, maybe we were supposed to be able to tell that from the story.